Lara Croft - Promotion and Merchandising

Promotion and Merchandising

Eidos's German branch and the KMF agency handled marketing for Lara Croft. Eidos marketing manager David Burton oversaw marketing efforts, which attempted to portray the character as attractive and pleasant. However, interaction with the press, especially those in Europe, resulted in less clothing depicted in promotional images. Concerned with diluting Croft's personality, Eidos avoided products it felt did not fit the character. Ian Livingstone, Eidos's product acquisition director, commented that the company declines most merchandising proposals. He stated that Eidos primarily focused on game development and viewed such promotion outside video games as exposure for the character. Following Square Enix's acquisition, Eidos's marketing duties were transferred to the Square Enix Europe subsidiary. As part of the second reboot, Crystal Dynamics planned to align all products, promotions, and media ventures with its new version of the character.

Lara Croft has appeared on the cover of multiple video game magazines. The character has also been featured on the cover of non-video game publications such as British style magazine The Face, American news magazines Time and Newsweek, German magazine Focus, and the front page of British newspaper the Financial Times. Eidos licensed the character for third party advertisements, including television ads for Visa, Lucozade drinks, G4 TV, Brigitte magazine, and SEAT cars. Retro Gamer staff attributes Croft's "iconic" status in part to the Lucozade commercials, calling them one of the most memorable advertisements to use video game elements. Picture advertisements appeared on the sides of double-decker buses and walls of subway stations. Irish rock band U2 commissioned custom renders for video footage displayed on stage in its 1997 PopMart tour. German punk band Die Ärzte's 1998 music video for "Men are pigs" (German: "Männer sind Schweine") also features Croft. Music groups have dedicated songs to the character, culminating in the release of the album A Tribute to Lara Croft. Bands and artists including Depeche Mode, Moby, Faith No More, Jimi Tenor, and Apollo 440 donated their songs for the album. In conjunction with the release of the 2001 film adaptation, Eidos licensed Lara Croft free-of-charge to the Gordonstoun boarding school for a commercial. The school approached Eidos about use of the character. Eidos allowed the one-time licence due to Core Design's inclusion of Gordonstoun in Croft's fictional biography without the school's permission. Near the end of 2006, Lara Croft became the spokesmodel for the Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation of Minden, Nevada as part of its Sun Smart Teen Program. The foundation felt that the character personified the benefits of a healthy body, and that young teenagers could relate to Croft.

Lara Croft's likeness has been a model for merchandise. The first action figures were produced by Toy Biz, based on the video game version of the character. Playmates Toys released a series of action figures that depict Croft in different outfits and accessories from the video games, later producing figures modelled after Jolie for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Graphic designer Marc Klinnert of Studio OXMOX released 1⁄₆ scale model kits of the character, and later built a full scale version. Arcade: The Videogame Magazine and PlayStation Magazine promoted life-size Croft statues as contest prizes. Spurred by a rumour that Eidos provided Lara Croft autographs, fans wrote to the company to obtain them. The quantity prompted Eidos to quickly produce autographed cards to meet demand. Tomb Raider: Underworld themes and wallpapers featuring the character were released for the PlayStation 3. Xbox Live Marketplace released Xbox 360 avatars in conjunction with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Eidos released a brand of Lara Croft apparel and accessories, marketed under the label "LARA©". The line included wallets, watches, bathrobes, and Zippo lighters. Other third-party apparel are hiking boots, backpacks, leather jackets, and thermoses. Croft's likeness has also appeared on French postage stamps, PlayStation memory cards, and trading cards as part of a collectible card game. In October 1997, Eidos held an art exhibition titled "Lara Goes Art" in Hamburg, Germany to promote Tomb Raider II. The exhibit featured selected artwork of the character submitted by artists and fans. Pieces included oil and airbrushed paintings, photo-stories, and Klinnert's model; SZM Studios provided the computer-generated footage it had created for Die Ärzte's music video and the Brigitte magazine television commercial.